A Song for the Asking
by Icheb-lover
Summary: When journeyman minstrel Kathleen is sent into the far north with Medren, a journeyman bard, she doesn't expect to be stranded far from civilization, to have to fight a nutty Karsite priest, or to fall in love. Companion to Tsuchi's "Cadet". MedrenOFC, Va


Song for the Asking (1/?)

Rating: PG 13

Pairings: Medren/OFC (eventually), Vanyel/ Stefen

Warning: As seen in above pairing, this fic does contain some slash; so if that bothers you (can't see why, if you are read Mercedes Lackey...), don't read this...

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and locations belong to Mercedes Lackey, with the exception of Q, who belongs to Paramount Pictures. I am merely borrowing them for fun and no profit, and no copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: Hi everyone, this is my first Mercedes Lackey fic! This is a sequel to Tsuchi's fic Cadet (ST:Voyager), and I would recommend reading that one first.... Also, chapter one is a bit of a Mercedes Lackey/ Voyager crossover, but only that chapter, I promise. However, for those who have not read Tsuchi's fic, I will summarize it here, with relevant details! They are really only important for chapter 1... but they are central to that chapter, so bear with me!

Summary of "Cadet": Frances, a girl from our world, is sent to the 24th Century, where she falls for Icheb. Icheb returns her feelings, which angers his best friend Q, who is in love with Icheb too. Q, an omnipotent alien, maneuvers it so that Icheb is forced to send Frances back to her own time. She is reunited with her sister, Kathleen, but is miserable. Q gets in trouble for interfering, and is ordered to bring Frances back to Icheb. Frances tells Q how they can both have Icheb, in exchange that he grant Kathleen one wish...

But on with the Fic...

Chapter 1: Early Morning Singing-Song

"Good Morning, Starshine!

The earth says hello,

You twinkle above us; we twinkle below.

Good Morning, Star..."

WHAM! Clatter, clatter, clatter; thunk.

An attractive, battery powered alarm clock (19.95 at Canadian Tire) sailed gracefully through the air, finally coming to a rather forceful stop wedged in the laundry basket, right between two pairs of pants, three socks, and a sweater – red, white and black stripes, once her sister's. Oliver's mellifluous voice was suddenly silenced, but the clock, stubbornly, continued to read 6:45 AM.

The clock's erstwhile opponent, fresh from its treacherous victory, snaked back under the sheets, and pulling them up over the tousled auburn head on the pillow. Said head, or specifically, the vocal chords attached to it, issued a groan of deepest despair – the sound of the awakened high school student.

Turning now from violence to violence, the hand, careless of the danger, tore the unsuspecting sheets from its mistress' form, throwing them with savage ferocity against the wall; they sank, lifeless, to the floor.

Kathleen (mistress of the hand, the alarm clock, and the vanquished sheets) sat up, slowly, at the edge of her bed.

"I hate mornings."

Shuffling over to the mirror, resplendent in tank top and SpongeBob underwear, Kathleen was greeted by the sounds of her ever affectionate cat, Jules, who, ever so sweetly (if nails on a blackboard could be called sweet), demanded immediate entrance to the room, and the procurement of The Slipper.

As she brushed her hair at the mirror, her glance strayed to the photographs that lined its edges. She and her friend Krystle at the Ex, a picture of her ex-boyfriend (why hadn't she got rid of that yet?); her band, Preternatural Soul, the family during their last vacation, standing on a wharf in Halifax, her sister, Frances, in her Spock T-shirt, giving the Vulcan salute – smiling, always smiling.

Kathleen shut her eyes, trying desperately to shut out the image, but it was no use – it must have been branded to her brain. It had been a year since her big (no: elder – Kathleen had been taller than Frances for years) sister had mysteriously disappeared from Entertainment Ink, right in the middle of the mall, and several weeks since, after her miraculous return, she had been re-abducted from under Kathleen's nose by a member of some freaky Trekkie cult. Frances had disappeared from Kathleen's life, leaving only loneliness and pain behind.

Finally, dressed in her navy blue school uniform, Kathleen set out with Fraser, the family's oversized Sheltie, who was afraid of everything and everyone, except for Kathleen, Frances and their parents. She walked down the street, deep in thought. The sky, she realized, was reflecting her mood – slate grey, it too looked about to cry.

It was Kathleen's job to walk Fraser, three times a day, everyday. She always went to the same place – an open, green space that had once, thirty years before, been the town dump. That fact had saved it from development; and the grasses, trees and wild flowers had had a chance to grow up there. Frances used to call it "The Land of Dreams Among", but Kathleen felt, today, that the name didn't really apply. Dreams didn't come true, not for her.

As she walked along the gravel service road (what had been Frances' name for it? Rocky Road? Typical of her, to name it after a flavour of ice cream), Kathleen took out her slightly battered copy of "Magic's Price". It, well, the entire Herald-Mage series actually, had been a present from Frances a few years earlier, and she had read them so many times she knew whole passages by heart. As Fraser did his business in a clump of bushes by the side of the road, she reread some of her favourite passages.

Suddenly, there was a bright, nearly blinding, flash of light, and Kathleen looked up to see, in addition to the dog's tail and trailing purple leash as he fled back up the hill, a lanky young man standing next to her, biting into an apple. He looked familiar...

Her eyes blazed. She knew him! This was the freak that abducted her sister – probably from that Trekkie cult. And how had he got here, anyway; and what was that weird light?

"Hey, doll." The stranger greeted her. She narrowed her eyes. 'Doll'?

"Are you trying to be offensive, or are you merely stupid?" she retorted.

He laughed, flashing perfect teeth.

"Look, sweetheart – I'd much rather be back with my Ichi right now, if you know what I mean" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, and smirked "but your sister said..."

"Shut up about her!" Kathleen screamed. This, this ...creep had the nerve to talk to her about Frances, after he took her away, from her home, her family, from where she belonged...

The lanky one rolled his eyes, snapped his fingers, and Kathleen felt her mouth literally being zippered closed. She couldn't open it at all, even a millimeter.

He looked annoyed. "Look, you post-industrial barbarian, I'd rather be making out with my sexy alien boyfriend right now, but I promised your sister I'd do you a favour, and I'd really rather get that over with, all right? Just tell me what you wish, okay?" He snapped his fingers again.

Kathleen felt the zipper leave her mouth, and continued screaming. "How dare you! First you take her away, and who knows what you've done with her, and now you show up to mess up my life even more. Just go away!"

He sighed, but there was a spark of something, maybe compassion, in his brown eyes. "Look, sweetie, I'd love to. Just tell me what your wish is, and I'll be off, and I'll never bother you again, okay?"

Kathleen gave a hollow laugh. This was unreal. The man was clearly insane. He was a member of some freaky Star Trek cult, and now he thought he could grant wishes. All right, that bit with the zipper had been rather impressive, but she'd seen a hypnotist at the Ex do something similar, once. It was probably best to humour him, and maybe he would just leave her alone; let her go back to her ruin of a life.

"Fine." She said quietly. "You want me to make a wish? I wish to go here, into the world of this book" she gestured to the book in her hand. "There, will you go away now?"

"That's good enough for me!" He snapped his fingers, and smiled as Kathleen, with a surprised expression, as, with a bright flash, she disappeared.

Q2 smiled to himself. There, he'd kept his promise to Frances, and could enjoy himself guilt free from now on. There was a lovely picnic spot on a planet in the Andromedan galaxy he'd been meaning to take Icheb...he'd love it....

With another flash, Q2 was gone as well, and only the autumn wind remained, tossing a few leaves around.


End file.
